The invention resides in a method for limiting the power output of an internal combustion engine wherein an air mass flow deviation of an actual air mass flow from a reference air mass flow is determined and, dependent thereon, a power output reduction is determined by which the maximum power output limit of the internal combustion engine is lowered.
In systems such as they are known, for example, from DE 43 25 307 A1 for a protection from excessively high exhaust gas temperatures, the momentary temperature of the exhaust gas is calculated from other values and is compared with a limit value. If the momentary temperature is above a certain limit value, the fuel injection into certain cylinders is cut. This however results in a non-uniform power output of the internal combustion engine.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a method by which the engine is protected from excessive exhaust gas temperatures without negative secondary effects.